After It Happened

Did You Know?

• On October 20, 1988, about 60 ACT UP demonstrators shut down outdoor filming by chanting, blowing whistles, and disabling lighting equipment—the first gay-related disruption to halt a production since the 1979 protests against the film Cruising.
• The sequel episode "Someone to Love" was written in consultation with groups that protested "After It Happened" and was praised by the San Francisco AIDS Foundation as 'an extremely accurate and honest portrayal.'

Plot

Talk radio host Jack Killian’s ex-girlfriend, Tina Cassidy, approaches him for help. She is pregnant and has contracted HIV from a one-night stand, and wants to find the man to tell him about the pregnancy and her infection. Killian discovers that the man, Mike Barnes, knows he has HIV and is intentionally spreading it. During his search, Jack meets other people Barnes has infected, including his former partner Ross, who was abandoned when he became ill, and another one-night stand named Kelly West. Unable to stop Barnes through legal means, Jack uses his radio show to warn the city. Barnes confronts Jack, but Kelly interrupts them, pulling a gun on Barnes. Jack persuades Kelly not to shoot him.

Controversy and critical response

When "After It Happened" went into production in San Francisco in October 1988, the script originally ended with Kelly shooting Mike to death. This script was leaked to AIDS activist groups, who were outraged. They contended that the script as written increased the likelihood of vigilante violence against LGBT people and people with AIDS. Series executive producer Bob Singer disagreed, saying, "The hero says that the murder is absolutely the wrong solution.

No one watching it could think we were condoning this by any stretch of the imagination." Three groups took the lead in organizing the protests: the San Francisco AIDS Foundation; ACT UP San Francisco; and Mobilization Against AIDS. On October 20 about 60 ACT UP demonstrators shut down outdoor filming by chanting, blowing whistles and disabling lighting equipment. This was the first time that a gay-related disruption caused a production to be suspended since the 1979 protests against the film Cruising in New York City.

Midnight Caller production company Lorimar Television agreed to alter the script. The ending was changed so that Kelly would still kill Mike but would be shown being arrested. Activists still considered this unacceptable and swore to continue disrupting the filming. Lorimar obtained temporary restraining orders against two of the protest groups on October 24, requiring them to stay at least 100 feet away from filming; the activists promptly announced that they would ignore the orders.

Demonstrators shut down production again on October 25. Singer announced that day that the ending would be changed again, to eliminate Mike's killing entirely. Some additional changes were made, such as including a scene in which the bartender at a gay bar denounces Mike's behaviour as "irresponsible", but Lorimar refused to meet another demand, that Mike be unaware of his HIV status. Lorimar executive Leslie Moonves denied that the changes were politically motivated, saying simply "we were concerned about being responsible."

On the night of the broadcast, between 200 and 300 demonstrators organized by ACT UP San Francisco picketed San Francisco's then-NBC affiliate, KRON, demanding that the station not air the episode. Around 150 people occupied the lobby and 10 who refused to leave were arrested. About a dozen members of ACT UP Philadelphia demonstrated outside that city's then-NBC affiliate, KYW. KRON went ahead with the broadcast but opened the program with a disclaimer.

Following the episode, KRON aired Midnight Caller: The Response, a live 30-minute news special in which city health officials and community leaders expressed their concerns with the episode's content. Activists continued to denounce the episode, with the AIDS Foundation's Steven Petrow saying, "By broadcasting a program that portrays an individual with the AIDS virus as a malicious, calculating killer who's out to infect others, we believe NBC is exhibiting the same type of callousness and ignorance that ignites and perpetuates acts of AIDS-related discrimination and violence."

A publicist for Lorimar, Barry Stagg, disagreed with this assessment. While acknowledging that the changes made at the behest of the AIDS groups were effective, he defended the episode, saying, "We think a lot of good will come out of this episode and that people will think more carefully about responsible sex." Years later series star Gary Cole said of the protesters, "They got it all wrong. We didn't exploit the tragedy of AIDS — we made an interesting TV show which covered a subject worrying more and more people."

"After It Happened" finished second in its time slot, behind an episode of thirtysomething. The episode was 33rd overall for the week, earning a 13.5 household rating. Reviews were mixed. Television critic Jon Burlingame, while finding the episode preachy in places (which he blames on the rewrites), finds that it "includes moments of strong drama" and is "not the flame-fanning irresponsible TV show that some protesters have painted".

Robert DiMatteo sharply differed. Although he praised some of the episode's moments, as when Jack physically comforts Tina (thus showing that there is no risk of HIV transmission through casual contact), other parts of the story were dismissed as simplistic and the characterization of Mike Barnes as "ludicrous and moldy, like [something] from The Boys in the Band". Yardena Arar found the scenario "far-fetched" and insulting to the intelligence of the women of San Francisco. Guest star Kay Lenz won an Emmy for her role as Tina.